Quirky, witty and a wee bit self-deprecating, L.A. based artist Marinelli finds the perfect sweet spot between feeling deeply and then experiencing nothing at all. With muted vocals wrapped in soft overlays, fuzzy, wanderlust guitars, simple backing beats and lofty melodies, Marinelli’s style takes a lackadaisical approach to sad bastard music, but not without his own modern shine.
His newest single, “Dipshit,” exemplifies all of the above as Marinelli turns the idea of love and boredom on its head, lacing outlandish lyrics with a subtle delivery and mellow vibes. Singing about being on the verge of a lovesick meltdown, he thinks about keying the car of a newly wedded couple or hitting Cupid with a crowbar all the while knowing the joke is on him. As the melody steadily picks up, it rolls over into a crescendo with Marinelli proclaiming twas love that made him a “dipshit,” knotting tightly together feelings of angst and apathy as self-reflection becomes more like a kick in the gut.
“It was inspired last March by my first trip to New York since the pandemic started and every quarter life crisis I have ever had there,” Marinelli notes. “I wrote and recorded most of it in an air bnb there with the guitar they provided.”
Formerly the drummer for Billie Eilish, Marinelli transitioned to producing and making his own music over the past few years, releasing his first singles in 2020, then his debut EP, Funny Bone, in September of 2021. Aptly titled, the EP captures a sense of bewilderment and unexplainable emotions, like a painful twinge from hitting your elbow in just the right spot. On the six-track EP, the young artist writes lyrics that has us tracing his uncertain steps wherever they go, whether it be a walk down memory lane, streets yet to pass or through an intersection between the two.
In the third track, “OH GOD,” he finds himself along the crossroads, ruminating on the torturous feeling of feeling too much, knowing it won’t be as intense later, but seemingly unbearable in the moment. He finds apathy yet again with “Halloween,” a song that encapsulates the helplessness of going out and having your cell phone die on you. Ending with “Father’s Son,” Marinelli lets out his anxieties in an honest and raw expression of all that has culminated in his life thus far. Emotions stew, become amplified and then pour out as he reveals little tidbits of himself along the way, all without ever singing above an understated whisper.
Funny Bone was produced and written almost entirely by Marinelli, who has also collaborated with other artists such as Spill Tab, and Wallice — and has opened on tour with Finneas. All of his music deals with very human emotions and feelings from loneliness, emptiness to feeling out of place.
Although he had to cancel/postpone what would have been his first solo show, Marinelli has more to come in 2022 with new music and hopefully a debut show very soon.
Words: Patti Sanchez
For more on Marinelli, make sure to follow him on Instagram.
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